A scanner includes a camera, a light source for generating a probe light incorporating a spatial pattern, an optical system for transmitting the probe light towards the object and for transmitting at least a part of the light returned from the object to the camera, a focus element within the optical system for varying a position of a focus plane of the spatial pattern on the object, unit for obtaining at least one image from said array of sensor elements, unit for evaluating a correlation measure at each focus plane position between at least one image pixel and a weight function, a processor for determining the in-focus position(s) of each of a plurality of image pixels for a range of focus plane positions, or each of a plurality of groups of image pixels for a range of focus plane positions, and transforming in-focus data into 3D real world coordinates.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A handheld intraoral scanner for determining a 3D geometry and color of at least a part of the surface of an object in an oral cavity, the intraoral scanner comprising: a tip configured to be inserted into the oral cavity; at least one camera accommodating an array of sensor elements; a pattern generator configured to generate, using a light source, a probe light with a plurality of configurations in the form of a time-varying illumination pattern; an optical system configured to transmit the probe light, via the tip, towards the object along an optical path thereby illuminating at least a part of the object with the time-varying illumination pattern, and to transmit at least a part of the light returned from the object to the at least one camera to form a plurality of 2D images, wherein the 3D geometry is determined based on the plurality of 2D images and the time-varying illumination pattern, wherein the intraoral scanner is wireless; and a hardware processor, located within the wireless intraoral scanner, configured to: selectively switch a color of the probe light to illuminate the object with different colors at different times; record images of the object with different colors by recording different images by the at least one camera at the different times; process the recorded images into processed recorded images, wherein the processed recorded images are configured for further processing into the 3D geometry; and transmit, via a wireless connection, the processed recorded images in real time.
5. The handheld intraoral scanner according to claim 1, wherein the data for the 3D geometry is transmitted via the wireless connection at a reduced data rate in comparison with transmission of the raw 3D data.
6. The handheld intraoral scanner according to claim 1, wherein the camera has a frame rate of at least 500 or at least 2000 frames per second.
7. The handheld intraoral scanner according to claim 6, wherein a frame includes the plurality of 2D images.
8. The handheld intraoral scanner according to claim 6, wherein the camera is a high-speed camera.
9. The handheld intraoral scanner according to claim 1, wherein the intraoral scanner is configured to transmit the processed recorded images such that live feedback to a scanner operator can be provided.
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May 11, 2022
December 27, 2022
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